Rachel has been painting, with much encouragement from her father, since she was 6 years old and she has never really put her paint brushes down. She has been exhibiting nationally for almost ten years and had her museum debut in 2022 for the group exhibition: 18th Regional Juried Exhibition at the Freeport Art Museum curated by Cleveland Dean. In 2018 Rachel and artist Karen Sako started their collaborative project JoyKo and continue to create work together as often as they are able. In 2023, they had their first joint show at the Zhou B Art Center in Chicago, showcasing their collaborative work as well as their individual work with a focus on celebrating the unique connection they share and explore through their work.
Rachel’s earliest works were highly influenced by her mentor and instructor Frankie Johnson. Johnson taught Rachel not only the basics and fundamentals of acrylics and oils but also became a mentor of sorts well into Rachel’s adult years at Mainstreet Art Center.
Rachel’s work took a major shift while studying painting at DePaul University from 2011-2013. It was there that she felt she was given permission to explore painting beyond the constraints of traditional realism. With encouragement from professor and artist Mark Zlotkowski along with the discovery of other renowned artists, namely Gerhard Richter and Robert Rauschenberg, who worked in multiple mediums, she began pushing the limits within her work. In 2024, Rachel was accepted into Ty Nathan Clark’s mentorship program which pushed her to explore working 3 dimensionally. She considers herself a multidisciplinary artist.
Rachel’s work is highly exploratory and expressive. She draws a great amount of inspiration from nature, the human condition, emotions, memories and current events. In 2023 Rachel moved from Chicago, to a small beach community in the Indiana Dunes with her partner and has been living and creating work there since. Rachel’s work is currently represented in Lake Zurich and New Buffalo.
I am a conduit of ideas, emotions and memories. My exploration as a multidisciplinary expressionist, is fueled by my curiosity and ambition to enhance our understanding of human nature and experiences, emphasizing their connection to nature. By exploring multiple mediums, I aim to show the complex nature of humanity.
The process behind my work includes intake, foraging, scavenging and collecting alongside reflection, arranging and exerting energy into each piece. My materials are vast and often include acrylic, oil, spray paint, cold wax, wood, found objects, graphite, colored pencil, thread, multitudes of adhesive and collaged paper. My goal is to be a channel not a conductor, while constantly seeking to push new boundaries in my work both personally and aesthetically. This allows for unintended developments as well as spontaneous marks and interactions. After that I let the piece reveal what it needs to me, rather than force it to completion. This is often gradual and patient work, which forces me to slow down and dig deeper into what the work is trying to say.
Each piece reveals something to me and about me, they are a journey of exploration and self discovery. I invite the viewer to reflect on what each piece reveals to them and to find their own new meanings within my work.
